Nedelea Defended CSWC Title in Italy

The Italians are some of the most dedicated slow smokers in the world. They’ve had a qualifier since 2015 and one of the organizers, Gino Iannillo, is one of the Cigar Smoking World Championship’s most enthusiastic ambassadors. In 2023 he was even crowned national champion and chosen to represent his home country at the grand final, and this year he won the British Open in London.

“The first one was with the Montecristo no 4 as the competition cigar, and since then we’ve had a qualifier every year except during Covid,” he says.

Before the Italian slow smoking elite gathered in Bergamo for the final, there were pre-qualifiers held around the country, though. Just like last year, there were a total of six, two in Torino, and the rest in Bergamo, Civita Castellana, Pescara and Pompeii.

Favorite to win among the 20 competitors was of course the reigning champion, Marian Nedelea from Cigar Club Pescara. In fact, when Iannillo competed for Italy in 2023, he wasn’t the best Italian, as Nedelea became the first Italian to smoke for more than two hours. He finished 9^th that year with the time 2 hours 35 minutes and 15 seconds, and last year he won the national qualifier for the first time.

This year he crushed the competition at the Pescara qualifier, smoking for 2 hours 25 minutes and 10 seconds.

“Nedelea delivered a clinical performance, navigating every nuance of the Oliva Mareva with finesse,” CSWC founder Marko Bilic says. “His winning time not only secured his local victory but sent a strong message ahead of the national final.”

Just like last year’s final in Torino, however, the one in Bergamo was a tight one. In 2024 he was one minute and 45 seconds ahead of runner-up Christian Fantinato, and this year it was even closer. When Nedelea finally laid down his cigar after 1 hour 39 minutes and 34 seconds, he had beat Francesco Saia by only 48 seconds. And behind them, Florindo Lauriello was trailing by just over five minutes.

“The times recorded were generally good, with several contestants surpassing the one-hour mark,” judge Aurelio Tufano says. “Among the participants were some wild card entrants experiencing the competition for the first time, and even they achieved excellent results. In fact, one of them was Saia in second place.”

1. Marian Nedelea 1:39:34
2. Francesco Saia 1:38:46
3. Florindo Lauriello 1:33:08